In a whole fruit juice extractor such as disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,970,861; 5,992,311; 5,996,485; and 6,568,319, the disclosures which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety, there are two separate components known as the cup bridge and juice manifold. The cup bridge supports fixed extractor cups that engage moveable extractor cups mounted on a cup beam. The cup bridge is a structural member that supports the lower or fixed extractor cups. In addition, the cup bridge is sloped to allow the peel particles (frit) and oil emulsion to flow away from the cup bridge into an oil recovery system or waste. The juice manifold, on the other hand, is designed to collect the juice from the strainer tubes and allows it to flow away from the juice extractor for further processing.
In a prior art juice extractor, such as in the incorporated by reference patents, the juice manifold is separate from the cup bridge and located under the cup bridge within a cavity. A latch mechanism typically holds the juice manifold to the cup bridge. This arrangement is not advantageous. For example, because the juice manifold is positioned within the lower cavity of the cup bridge, the assembly of the two components creates several gaps and crevices, which are difficult to clean. Another drawback is that the juice manifold piping is in a location where it constantly collects peel on top of the piping. For example, this piping, also referred to as “bullhorns,” often extend out the front of the juice manifold and extractor machine. This piping collects peel debris and is difficult to clean.